The SEC adopted final rules from the Dodd-Frank Act intended to lessen risk in mortgage lending and the market for asset-backed securities. The rules, which are also being adopted by the federal banking regulators, require more issuers of asset-backed securities to retain 5 percent of the loans they issue. The regulators hope the rules discourage practices that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.Read Full Article →

PCAOB officials believe they are close to issuing a preliminary rulemaking document called a concept release to measure the quality of an auditor's work.PCAOB officials are still trying to determine what measurements should be provided to the auditors on a client engagement, the client, the client's audit committee, the audit firm, and investors before they publish the document.Read Full Article →

The SEC plans to issue a preliminary rulemaking document called a concept release in early 2015 to solicit comments on amending the requirements for the audit committee reports companies include in their yearly proxy statements to shareholders. The market regulator wants to make the reports more useful to investors. In recent years, audit committees have taken on more risk management responsibilities, but the audit committee's role isn't always clear to shareholders.Read Full Article →

The rules the SEC has had to write from the Dodd-Frank Act are interfering with the agency's mission to promote efficient capital markets, according to Commissioner Daniel Gallagher. He wants to see less focus on some disclosure rules and efforts to lower financial market risk and more leeway for companies to tap into the markets to raise investment capital.Read Full Article →

The FASB's research staff is ready to begin writing a proposal that will establish financial reporting requirements for not-for-profit organizations.Releasing the proposal will be a major milestone for a project that started in 2009.Read Full Article →

IRS has released on its website a number of draft tax forms and instructions for the 2014 tax year, including Form 1040 and its related schedules.They reflect key health coverage changes that first went into effect in 2014, including the premium assistance credit and the penalty for failing to have coverage, and other changes.Read Full Article →